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Possibilities for an Anglican Future? From various sources and from various leaders of groups within the Anglican Communion we are beginning to see the lines of demarcation and advocacy more clearly. It would be useful to set these out and consider them as we face into a very difficult season, waiting and praying for some way forward as 30 September 2007 approaches. Canterbury is in communion with various sectors of the Anglican family, though they are not in communion with one another, due to developments of the past five years. Presumably, Canterbury could be in communion with sectors within...
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The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion: An Appraisal at a Time of Waiting In his lectures delivered at Wycliffe College last month, Ephraim Radner has given an historical account of conciliarism and has described how Anglicanism developed over time a set of Instruments intending to maintain unity of faith in the light of missionary expansion and the emergence of nations in the New World (among other things). This did not happen from ‘the top down’ or by an anticipatory prophetic template. The relationship between the Instruments, and their relative weighting, interplay, etc, is due to...
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Splinter Episcopalians: Giving Gravitas to Trivia Ari Goldman, the former religion editor of The New York Times (and not coincidentally my favorite secular religion newspaper writer in America during my active career), once told me that the only way he could get a religion story on the front page of the Times was to combine religion with sex. I thought of that when I picked up the Times on December 4 and discovered a front page, left hand column, lead story by Ari's able successor, Laurie Goldstein, with a headline blaring "Episcopal Split as Conservatives Form New Group." The subtitle...
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TEC's Theological Agenda and TEC's Strategy for the Lambeth Conference of Bishops Written by Rev. Dr. Philip Turner Monday, 21 July 2008 The Rev. Dr. Philip Turner Vice President The Anglican Communion Institute I Shortly before the opening of the Lambeth Conference (now in progress) the Rt. Rev. Clayton Matthews of the office of TEC’s Presiding Bishops circulated a memo to all TEC bishops planning to attend. The memo is entitled “Lambeth Talking Points” and is intended to guide and shape the comments of TEC’s bishops in their discussions with other bishops from other parts of the Anglican...
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CROSSROADS ARE FOR MEETING (AGAIN) AN ADDRESS TO THE CONVENTION OF THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF DALLAS OCTOBER 2009 THE REV. DR. PHILIP TURNER I As you know, my subject is the Anglican Covenant. Is it really Anglican? Is it really necessary? Is it theologically defensible? Is it an effective way to address our present difficulties? I will get to these questions and others in due course, but first, to make sure we know what it is that we are talking about, I must take you on a little trip down memory lane. The first book I published was a collection of essays entitled “Crossroads Are For Meeting.”...
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9 THE ACHILLES HEAL OF ANGLICANISM (In North America and the United Kingdom) THE REVD. DR. PHILIP TURNER For many years I studied in England or worked within the British sphere of influence; and during that time I learned to look forward to Alasdair Cook’s, “Letter from America.” I enjoyed that column immensely because of its positive presentation of American life. I was surrounded by the British media that portrayed America as a cautionary tale warning the British people that, if they were not careful, they might become like their American cousins. A positive word about my “homeland” provided...
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COMMENTS ON A PROPOSAL TO REFORM THE CONSTITUTION AND CANONS OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH AS PRESENTED BY THE PRESIDING BISHOP AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH The Rev. Dr Philip Turner Introduction Proposals for review and reform of the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church (TEC) have in recent months appeared in a number of quarters. It is as important to ask the reasons for these concerns as it is to assess the wisdom of the actual proposals. As yet the proposals as well as the reasons for them remain either hidden or only partially revealed. In respect to the...
COMMUNION, ORDER, AND DISSENT OR “ THE REVENGE OF PUSS AND BOOTS” THE REV. DR. PHILIP TURNER I I owe it to my readers to provide an explanation of a puzzling title. What does a discussion of “communion, order, and dissent” have to do with the well-known and well-loved children’s story of Puss and Boots? Remember, in the story, the hero can only reach his goal if he listens to a despised cat that he must take as his companion on the way. It would seem that the point of the story is that attention must be given to what we might otherwise despise if we are to succeed in our more “high flown”...
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PATIENT ENDURANCE On Living Faithfully in a Time of Troubles I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance (Rev. 2:2a) When referring to the response given to the tumult within The Episcopal Church (TEC) by those with more traditional theological and moral commitments, it is at present a matter of common parlance to speak of an “inside” and an “outside” strategy. At first glance, reference to an “inside strategy” and an “outside strategy” suggests two groups that have similar goals but employ different tactics to reach those goals. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that this...
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THE TAIL IS WAGGING THE DOG A Response to the Pastoral Letter Of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori The Rev. Dr. Philip Turner In the brief time since first it appeared, the recent pastoral letter to the Episcopal Church by its Presiding Bishop has brought forth a voluminous and heated response. If, however, this letter is to be assessed adequately, it is not enough to celebrate its boldness or decry its inaccuracies and half-truths. Before assessing the moral and spiritual worth of the letter or picking apart its various claims, it is necessary to ask just what purpose this letter is...
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